Combination garment



March 17, 1936. WIPPERMAN COMBINATION GARMENT Filed April 4, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR fikasa/mo W/PP'AMA/V A TTORNEY are]! 1936- H. WIPPERMAN COMBINATION GARMENT Filed April 4, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR bzosewea l V/ppwma/v ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 17, 1936 EED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINATION GARMENT Hildegard Wipperman, Chicago,

The H. W. Gossard Company,

111., assignor to Chicago, 111., a

1 Claim.

This invention relates to combination garments for women and has for its object to provide a light form-fitting garment of this. type adapted to support and mold the busts, flatten the diaphragm and confine the abdomen with perfect comfort and freedom of movement to the wearer in all positions of the body.

These and other objects are accomplished by a garment comprising a corset and brassiere. The corset preferably has a stiffened front section and elastic portions which mold the figure and fit the front section snugly across the diaphragm and abdomen. The brassiere comprises an upper portion constituting bust pockets and a lower portion or band which telescopes the front of the corset and is secured to the side edges thereof but is otherwise detached from the corset and therefore free to move up and down or sidewise with respect to the corset when the body bends or turns. 7

Flaps or end sections are secured to the side edges of the brassiere and down the sides of the corset to about the waistline. These flaps extend rearwardly beyond the sides of the garment .and terminate in elastic straps which are fastened to the back in any suitable manner. The straps exert a backward pull on the brassire, lifting the bust pockets and holding the busts in a high and youthful position. They likewise exert a cross pull on the lower band portion of the brassiere and on the upper front portion of the corset covering the diaphragm, and an upward pull which is distributed over the region covering the diaphragm and abdomen.

The stiffened front portion of the corset produces the proper flattening effect on the diaphragm and furthermore enables the lower band portion of the brassire and the front portion of the corset to slide freely up and down with relation to each other. The combination of the telescoping front with the aforesaid tensioning means insures proper control of the busts, diaphragm and abdomen in all positions of the body. It furthermore enhances the diaphragm control, since the molding and lifting of the busts permits increased tightening of the garment across the diaphragm without discomfort to the wearer.

A further improvement resides in aspecial con- 5Q struction of the back portion of the garment, employing an elastic fabric having a controlled stretch in two directions, which supplies the tension required to mold the fgure and the proper elasticity to adjust itself to bending movements 55 of the body without sliding out of place.

The. invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2v are front and rear plan views of a combination garment embodying the invention;

Figs. 3 and4 are front and side views of a model with the garment applied thereto;

Fig. 5 is a front view with the brassiere broken open at the front to show its relation to the diaphragm control; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are front and rear plan views of a. modified combination garment embodying the invention.

The. lower or corset portion of the combination garment shown in Figs. 1 to 5 has front and rear 15 sections l and 2 of inelastic material and longitudinal side elastic sections 3 and 4. The lower back portion may also be made of all elastic, either one way stretch or two way stretch being used. The corset opens at one side and is fas- 20 tened about the body by cooperating hooks 5 and eyes 6 on the respective meeting edges. An elastic gore 'l is. inserted in the lower central portion of front section I and a similar smaller gore 8 is inserted in the upper central portion of rear section 2 to provide adjustment. In the garment illustrated, side sections 3 and 4 and gores 7 and 8 are all made of elastic material capable of stretching horizontally but incapable of stretching in a vertical direction. Garters 9 are attached to the lower edges of the front, back and side sections of the garment in any suitable. manner.

The front section I extends well above the waistline and nearly to the bustline, the upper edge of said section being pointed at the center and sloping down slightly toward the sides in conformity with the general contour of the busts. This section has a central double stay In and single side stays H and I2 embodied in the lining on the reverse side of the garment. These stays preferably extend to the top of section I, their purpose being to hold section I snugly against the body while furnishing the strength and rigidity necessary to flatten the diaphragm and confine and support the abdomen. Back section 2 has long vertical stays l3 and M on opposite sides of the center, extending the full length of section 2, and shorter side stays I 5 and I6 extending from the upper edge to the hips as shown in Fig. 2.

The brassiere has an upper bust molding portion made of netting or other soft inelastic material constituting bust pockets l8 and I9 which are shaped to mold and elevate the busts to a conical shape of a very youthful type, these bust pockets being stitched to a lower band or panel 20 made of relatively stiff inelastic material which is shaped at the top to conform to the contour of the busts. The band 20 is stitched to the vertical side edges of front corset section I but is otherwise detached from the corset and overlaps front section I for a considerable distance, preferably extending about three inches below the upper edge of section I, permitting band 20 to slide up and down without sliding above the.

upper edge of section I in any normal position of the body.

Flaps 2| and 22 of inelastic material are sewn to the vertical side edges of the brassiere and corset, extending from the upper edges of bust pockets I8 and I9 and down the sides of band 20 and front corset section I to below the normal waistline. These flaps each terminate in a series of elastic straps 23, 24 and 25 which are suitably stitched to the outer ends of the flaps. The diagonal elastic straps 23 and 25 of each set converge from their points of attachment at the upper and lower edges of flaps 2 I- and 22 and are provided at their extremities with loops 26 which are adapted to be fastened to spaced buttons 21 on rear section 2 of thergarment. The horizontal elastic straps 24 of each set are shorter than diagonal straps 23 and 25 and have their outer ends secured to an intermediate portion of straps 23 and 25 by transverse seams or piping 28 as shown in Fig. 2. Elastic shoulder straps 30 each have three diverging ends or branches 3| secured to spaced points on the central upper edges of the respective bust pockets I8 and I9 and have their rear ends secured to the extremities of flaps 2| and 22, the purpose of these shoulder straps being to hold the bust encased in pockets I8 and I9 in a high and comfortable position at -all times.

The flaps 2| and 22 extend rearwardly beyond the sides of the garment, overlapping the upper portions of side sections 3 and 4, and the respective sets of elastic straps 23-25 are crossed at the back and secured by fastening loops 26 to buttons 21. When fastened in this manner straps 23 exert a downward pull along the upper edges of flaps 2I and 22 and a backward pull along the upper front edge of the brassiere; while straps'24 exert a substantially horizontal pull across band 20 and across the upper portion of corset section I covering the diaphragm; and straps 25 exert an upward cross pull on the lower edges of flaps' 2| and 22 which is distributed over the portion of corset section I covering the diaphragm and abdomen.

The combination of the telescoping front and elastic tensioning means insures proper control of the busts, diaphragm and abdomen in all positions of the body. With the body erect, the lower edge of brassiere band 29 occupies the position of line 33 in Fig. 3, line 34 indicating the position of this edge when the upper part of the body is bent back, and line 35 indicating its position when the body is bent forward. In these and all other positions of the body the brassiere band 20 slides freely with respect to corset section I without any drag on the bust pockets which retain the busts in a high and comfortable position at alltimes. This sliding movement is facilitated by the stiffened upper portion of front section I which is held flat against the diaphragm and may be held tighter than in ordinary garments, giving better control of the diaphragm, because of the freedom of movement between the corset and brassire. In addition, the free up and down motion of the lower stiffer portion of the brassiere over the upper part of section I of the corset eliminates wrinkles in the material, usual under the bust of an ordinary combination garment, when the wearer is sitting with the body inclined forward or is in other relaxed position.

The combination garment of Figs. 6 and 7 is similar to that of Figs. 1 to except that the rear and side sections are replaced by section 40 having a controlled two-way stretch. In order to simplify the description the upper and lower front portions, flaps, shoulder straps, etc., which are alike in both garments, are identified in Figs. 6 and '7 by corresponding reference numbers with primes affixed thereto. Rear section 40 is preferably made of suitable knitted, woven or other elastic fabric having a relatively short snappy stretch and quick contraction horizontally or circumferentially of the body, and a relatively long easy stretch and slow contraction in a vertical direction.v The relatively short horizontal stretch of section 40 fits the garment snugly about the body, molding the hips and tensioning the stiffened inelastic front section across the diaphragm and abdomen. The relatively long easy stretch of section 40 enables this section to follow and freely accommodate itself to movements of the body when the wearer bends over or assumes a sitting position, preventing the garment from hitching up or sliding out of place. Buttons 21' for connection to loops 26' are secured to spaced inelastic inserts 4| which are sewed to the inner and outer surfaces of rear-section 40 and short diagonal stays 42 are secured to the fabric intermediate these buttons, diverging toward the upper edge of section 40, to fit said upper edge snugly against the body. The structure and function of the brassiere front, flaps 2l and 22', etc., are the same as in Figs. 1 to 5 described above.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction herein shown and described without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

A combination garment comprising a corset having a stiffened continuous front portion adapted to cover the diaphragm and abdomen, a brassiere having an upper front portion of soft inelastic material constituting individual bust pockets shaped to mold and elevate the busts and a lower front band of stiffer inelastic material secured thereto and extending crosswise and overlapping the stiffened front portion of said corset and secured to the side edges thereof, said brassiere being otherwise detached from the front of said corset and being free to move up and down with respect to said front corset portion in accordance with bending movements of the body, flaps secured to the sides of said brassiere and extending down the sides of said corset to below the bottom edge of the brassire and extending rear- Wardly beyond the sides of the garment, elastic shoulder straps secured to the upper edges of said bust pockets and to said flaps, elastic straps secured to the outer ends of said flaps and means for holding said straps under tension at the back of the garment.

HILDEGARD WIPPERMAN. 

